Handling of loss of pairing between networked devices

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods disclosed herein include (i) receiving a voice command via at least one microphone of a networked microphone device, wherein the networked microphone device is configured to receive voice commands for a media playback system, and wherein the media playback system comprises the networked microphone device and a first playback device configured to play back content, (ii) determining that the networked microphone device is not configured to play back the content, (iii) in response to determining that the networked microphone is not configured to play back the content, determining that the first playback device is available to play back the content, (iv) causing the first playback device to play back the content, (v) determining that the first playback device is no longer available to play back the content, and (vi) selecting a second playback device to play back the content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/715,984, filed Dec. 16, 2019, titled“Handling of loss of pairing between networked devices,” the contents ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/715,984 claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/131,254, filed Apr. 18, 2016, titled “Handlingof loss of pairing between networked devices,” the contents of which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/131,254 claims priority to (i) U.S. ProvisionalApp. 62/298,418, filed Feb. 22, 2016, titled “Audio Response Playback;”(ii) U.S. Provisional App. 62/298,433, filed Feb. 22, 2016, titled“Room-corrected Voice Detection;” (iii) U.S. Provisional App.62/298,439, filed Feb. 22, 2016, titled “Content Mixing;” (iv) U.S.Provisional App. 62/298,425, filed Feb. 22, 2016, titled “Music ServiceSelection;” (v) U.S. Provisional App. 62/298,350, filed Feb. 22, 2016,titled “Metadata exchange involving a networked playback system and anetworked microphone system;” (vi) U.S. Provisional App. 62/298,388,filed Feb. 22, 2016, titled “Handling of loss of pairing betweennetworked devices;” (vii) U.S. Provisional App. 62/298,393, filed Feb.22, 2016, titled “Action based on User ID;” and (viii) U.S. ProvisionalApp. 62/312,350, filed Mar. 23, 2016, titled “Voice Control of a MediaPlayback System.” The entire contents of the 62/298,418; 62/298,433;62/298,439; 62/298,425; 62/298,350; 62/298,388; 62/298,393; and62/312,350 applications are incorporated herein by reference. Thisapplication also incorporates by reference the entire contents of U.S.Provisional App. 62/298,410, filed Feb. 22, 2016, and titled “DefaultPlayback Device(s).”

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other elementsdirected to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed for one ofits first patent applications, entitled “Method for Synchronizing AudioPlayback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering a mediaplayback system for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HiFi System enablespeople to experience music from many sources via one or more networkedplayback devices. Through a software control application installed on asmartphone, tablet, or computer, one can play what he or she wants inany room that has a networked playback device. Additionally, using thecontroller, for example, different songs can be streamed to each roomwith a playback device, rooms can be grouped together for synchronousplayback, or the same song can be heard in all rooms synchronously.

Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to bea need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhancethe listening experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example media playback system configuration in whichcertain embodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device;

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device;

FIG. 4 shows an example controller interface;

FIG. 5 shows an example plurality of network devices;

FIG. 6 shows a function block diagram of an example network microphonedevice;

FIG. 7 shows an example method according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 shows an example method according to some embodiments.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

When a media playback system is configured to be controlled by voicecommands received via a networked microphone system, it is advantageousfor the media playback system to execute the voice commands and toperhaps also provide feedback in response to a voice command receivedvia the networked microphone system.

For example, in response to the networked microphone system receiving avoice command to “Add this song to my favorites playlist,” it isadvantageous for the media playback system (or at least one mediaplayback device of the media playback system) to add the song to thefavorites playlist and also to confirm that the song has been added tothe user's favorite's playlist via some audio feedback, such as “[Songname] has been added to the favorite's playlist” or some similarfeedback. Similarly, in response to the networked microphone systemreceiving a voice command of “What is the name of this song?”, it may bedesirable for the media playback system (or at least one media playbackdevice of the media playback system) to inform the user of the name ofthe song via some audio feedback, such as “This song is “All You Need isLove” by The Beatles,” or some similar feedback.

However, sometimes one or more media playback devices may be unavailableor otherwise unable to execute a voice command (e.g., a command to playback media, reconfigure the media playback system, and so on) or toprovide feedback in response to the networked microphone systemreceiving a voice command. In such circumstances, it may be desirable tohave a fallback device to play back media, perform media playback systemreconfigurations, and/or provide feedback in response to a voice commandreceived via the networked microphone system.

Some embodiments described herein include (i) receiving a voice commandvia a networked microphone device configured to receive voice commandsfor a media playback system to perform a function (e.g., play back mediacontent, add or remove a song from a playlist, purchase a song, and soon), wherein the media playback system comprises a primary mediaplayback device configured to perform the function in response to voicecommands received via the networked microphone device, (ii) determiningthat the primary media playback device is not available to perform thefunction in response to the voice command, and (iii) in response todetermining that the primary media playback device is not available toperform the function in response to the voice command, instructing afallback device to perform the function in response to the voicecommand.

Some embodiments described herein may additionally or alternativelyinclude (i) receiving a voice command via a networked microphone deviceconfigured to receive voice commands for a media playback system,wherein the media playback system comprises a primary media playbackdevice configured to provide a first feedback in response to voicecommands received via the networked microphone device, (ii) determiningthat the primary media playback device is not available to provide thefirst feedback in response to the voice command, and (iii) in responseto determining that the primary media playback device is not availableto provide the first feedback in response to the voice command,instructing a fallback device to provide a second feedback in responseto the voice command.

Additionally, sometimes one or more networked microphone devices of anetworked microphone system may be unavailable or otherwise unable toreceive voice commands. In such circumstances, it may be desirable toconfigure a fallback microphone (perhaps temporarily) to receive voicecommands for the media playback system.

Some embodiments described herein include (i) determining that a primarynetworked microphone device of a networked microphone system is notavailable to receive voice commands for a media playback system, whereinthe media playback system comprises one or more media playback devices,and (ii) in response to determining that the primary networkedmicrophone device is not available to receive voice commands,designating a fallback microphone to receive voice commands for themedia playback system.

While some examples described herein may refer to functions performed bygiven actors such as “users” and/or other entities, it should beunderstood that this is for purposes of explanation only. The claimsshould not be interpreted to require action by any such example actorunless explicitly required by the language of the claims themselves. Itwill be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thisdisclosure includes numerous other embodiments.

II. Example Operating Environment

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 100 inwhich one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced orimplemented. The media playback system 100 as shown is associated withan example home environment having several rooms and spaces, such as forexample, a master bedroom, an office, a dining room, and a living room.As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the media playback system 100includes playback devices 102-124, control devices 126 and 128, and awired or wireless network router 130.

Further discussions relating to the different components of the examplemedia playback system 100 and how the different components may interactto provide a user with a media experience may be found in the followingsections. While discussions herein may generally refer to the examplemedia playback system 100, technologies described herein are not limitedto applications within, among other things, the home environment asshown in FIG. 1. For instance, the technologies described herein may beuseful in environments where multi-zone audio may be desired, such as,for example, a commercial setting like a restaurant, mall or airport, avehicle like a sports utility vehicle (SUV), bus or car, a ship or boat,an airplane, and so on.

a. Example Playback Devices

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device200 that may be configured to be one or more of the playback devices102-124 of the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1. The playback device200 may include one or more processors 202, software components 204,memory 206, audio processing components 208, audio amplifier(s) 210,speaker(s) 212, a network interface 214 including wireless interface(s)216 and wired interface(s) 218, and microphone(s) 220. In one case, theplayback device 200 may not include the speaker(s) 212, but rather aspeaker interface for connecting the playback device 200 to externalspeakers. In another case, the playback device 200 may include neitherthe speaker(s) 212 nor the audio amplifier(s) 210, but rather an audiointerface for connecting the playback device 200 to an external audioamplifier or audio-visual receiver.

In one example, the one or more processors 202 may be one or moreclock-driven computing components configured to process input dataaccording to instructions stored in the memory 206. The memory 206 maybe a tangible computer-readable medium configured to store instructionsexecutable by the one or more processors 202. For instance, the memory206 may be data storage that can be loaded with one or more of thesoftware components 204 executable by the one or more processors 202 toachieve certain functions. In one example, the functions may involve theplayback device 200 retrieving audio data from an audio source oranother playback device. In another example, the functions may involvethe playback device 200 sending audio data to another device or playbackdevice on a network. In yet another example, the functions may involvepairing of the playback device 200 with one or more playback devices tocreate a multi-channel audio environment.

Certain functions may involve the playback device 200 synchronizingplayback of audio content with one or more other playback devices.During synchronous playback, a listener will preferably not be able toperceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content bythe playback device 200 and the one or more other playback devices. U.S.Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizingoperations among a plurality of independently clocked digital dataprocessing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, providesin more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization amongplayback devices.

The memory 206 may further be configured to store data associated withthe playback device 200, such as one or more zones and/or zone groupsthe playback device 200 is a part of, audio sources accessible by theplayback device 200, or a playback queue that the playback device 200(or some other playback device) may be associated with. The data may bestored as one or more state variables that are periodically updated andused to describe the state of the playback device 200. The memory 206may also include the data associated with the state of the other devicesof the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices sothat one or more of the devices have the most recent data associatedwith the system. Other embodiments are also possible.

The audio processing components 208 may include one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, anaudio enhancement component or a digital signal processor (DSP), and soon. In one embodiment, one or more of the audio processing components208 may be a subcomponent of the one or more processors 202. In oneexample, audio content may be processed and/or intentionally altered bythe audio processing components 208 to produce audio signals. Theproduced audio signals may then be provided to the audio amplifier(s)210 for amplification and playback through speaker(s) 212. Particularly,the audio amplifier(s) 210 may include devices configured to amplifyaudio signals to a level for driving one or more of the speakers 212.The speaker(s) 212 may include an individual transducer (e.g., a“driver”) or a complete speaker system involving an enclosure with oneor more drivers. A particular driver of the speaker(s) 212 may include,for example, a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), a mid-range driver(e.g., for middle frequencies), and/or a tweeter (e.g., for highfrequencies). In some cases, each transducer in the one or more speakers212 may be driven by an individual corresponding audio amplifier of theaudio amplifier(s) 210. In addition to producing analog signals forplayback by the playback device 200, the audio processing components 208may be configured to process audio content to be sent to one or moreother playback devices for playback.

Audio content to be processed and/or played back by the playback device200 may be received from an external source, such as via an audioline-in input connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-inconnection) or the network interface 214.

The network interface 214 may be configured to facilitate a data flowbetween the playback device 200 and one or more other devices on a datanetwork. As such, the playback device 200 may be configured to receiveaudio content over the data network from one or more other playbackdevices in communication with the playback device 200, network deviceswithin a local area network, or audio content sources over a wide areanetwork such as the Internet. The playback device 200 may transmitmetadata to and/or receive metadata from other devices on the network,including but not limited to components of the networked microphonesystem disclosed and described herein. In one example, the audio contentand other signals (e.g., metadata and other signals) transmitted andreceived by the playback device 200 may be transmitted in the form ofdigital packet data containing an Internet Protocol (IP)-based sourceaddress and IP-based destination addresses. In such a case, the networkinterface 214 may be configured to parse the digital packet data suchthat the data destined for the playback device 200 is properly receivedand processed by the playback device 200.

As shown, the network interface 214 may include wireless interface(s)216 and wired interface(s) 218. The wireless interface(s) 216 mayprovide network interface functions for the playback device 200 towirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other playbackdevice(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), network device(s), control device(s)within a data network the playback device 200 is associated with) inaccordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wireless standardincluding IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4Gmobile communication standard, and so on). The wired interface(s) 218may provide network interface functions for the playback device 200 tocommunicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordancewith a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3). While the networkinterface 214 shown in FIG. 2 includes both wireless interface(s) 216and wired interface(s) 218, the network interface 214 may in someembodiments include only wireless interface(s) or only wiredinterface(s).

The microphone(s) 220 may be arranged to detect sound in the environmentof the playback device 200. For instance, the microphone(s) may bemounted on an exterior wall of a housing of the playback device. Themicrophone(s) may be any type of microphone now known or later developedsuch as a condenser microphone, electret condenser microphone, or adynamic microphone. The microphone(s) may be sensitive to a portion ofthe frequency range of the speaker(s) 220. One or more of the speaker(s)220 may operate in reverse as the microphone(s) 220. In some aspects,the playback device 200 might not have microphone(s) 220.

In one example, the playback device 200 and one other playback devicemay be paired to play two separate audio components of audio content.For instance, playback device 200 may be configured to play a leftchannel audio component, while the other playback device may beconfigured to play a right channel audio component, thereby producing orenhancing a stereo effect of the audio content. The paired playbackdevices (also referred to as “bonded playback devices”) may further playaudio content in synchrony with other playback devices.

In another example, the playback device 200 may be sonicallyconsolidated with one or more other playback devices to form a single,consolidated playback device. A consolidated playback device may beconfigured to process and reproduce sound differently than anunconsolidated playback device or playback devices that are paired,because a consolidated playback device may have additional speakerdrivers through which audio content may be rendered. For instance, ifthe playback device 200 is a playback device designed to render lowfrequency range audio content (i.e. a subwoofer), the playback device200 may be consolidated with a playback device designed to render fullfrequency range audio content. In such a case, the full frequency rangeplayback device, when consolidated with the low frequency playbackdevice 200, may be configured to render only the mid and high frequencycomponents of audio content, while the low frequency range playbackdevice 200 renders the low frequency component of the audio content. Theconsolidated playback device may further be paired with a singleplayback device or yet another consolidated playback device.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including a “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any otherpast, present, and/or future playback devices may additionally oralternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, it is understood that aplayback device is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 orto the SONOS product offerings. For example, a playback device mayinclude a wired or wireless headphone. In another example, a playbackdevice may include or interact with a docking station for personalmobile media playback devices. In yet another example, a playback devicemay be integral to another device or component such as a television, alighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use.

b. Example Playback Zone Configurations

Referring back to the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, theenvironment may have one or more playback zones, each with one or moreplayback devices. The media playback system 100 may be established withone or more playback zones, after which one or more zones may be added,or removed to arrive at the example configuration shown in FIG. 1. Eachzone may be given a name according to a different room or space such asan office, bathroom, master bedroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room,living room, and/or balcony. In one case, a single playback zone mayinclude multiple rooms or spaces. In another case, a single room orspace may include multiple playback zones.

As shown in FIG. 1, the balcony, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office,and bedroom zones each have one playback device, while the living roomand master bedroom zones each have multiple playback devices. In theliving room zone, playback devices 104, 106, 108, and 110 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as one or more bonded playback devices, as one or moreconsolidated playback devices, or any combination thereof. Similarly, inthe case of the master bedroom, playback devices 122 and 124 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as a bonded playback device, or as a consolidated playbackdevice.

In one example, one or more playback zones in the environment of FIG. 1may each be playing different audio content. For instance, the user maybe grilling in the balcony zone and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 102 while another user may be preparingfood in the kitchen zone and listening to classical music being playedby the playback device 114. In another example, a playback zone may playthe same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office zone where the playback device118 is playing the same rock music that is being playing by playbackdevice 102 in the balcony zone. In such a case, playback devices 102 and118 may be playing the rock music in synchrony such that the user mayseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) enjoy the audiocontent that is being played out-loud while moving between differentplayback zones. Synchronization among playback zones may be achieved ina manner similar to that of synchronization among playback devices, asdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395.

As suggested above, the zone configurations of the media playback system100 may be dynamically modified, and in some embodiments, the mediaplayback system 100 supports numerous configurations. For instance, if auser physically moves one or more playback devices to or from a zone,the media playback system 100 may be reconfigured to accommodate thechange(s). For instance, if the user physically moves the playbackdevice 102 from the balcony zone to the office zone, the office zone maynow include both the playback device 118 and the playback device 102.The playback device 102 may be paired or grouped with the office zoneand/or renamed if so desired via a control device such as the controldevices 126 and 128. On the other hand, if the one or more playbackdevices are moved to a particular area in the home environment that isnot already a playback zone, a new playback zone may be created for theparticular area.

Further, different playback zones of the media playback system 100 maybe dynamically combined into zone groups or split up into individualplayback zones. For instance, the dining room zone and the kitchen zone114 may be combined into a zone group for a dinner party such thatplayback devices 112 and 114 may render (e.g., play back) audio contentin synchrony. On the other hand, the living room zone may be split intoa television zone including playback device 104, and a listening zoneincluding playback devices 106, 108, and 110, if the user wishes tolisten to music in the living room space while another user wishes towatch television.

c. Example Control Devices

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device 300that may be configured to be one or both of the control devices 126 and128 of the media playback system 100. As shown, the control device 300may include one or more processors 302, memory 304, a network interface306, a user interface 308, microphone(s) 310, and software components312. In one example, the control device 300 may be a dedicatedcontroller for the media playback system 100. In another example, thecontrol device 300 may be a network device on which media playbacksystem controller application software may be installed, such as forexample, an iPhone™, iPad™ or any other smart phone, tablet or networkdevice (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™).

The one or more processors 302 may be configured to perform functionsrelevant to facilitating user access, control, and configuration of themedia playback system 100. The memory 304 may be data storage that canbe loaded with one or more of the software components executable by theone or more processors 302 to perform those functions. The memory 304may also be configured to store the media playback system controllerapplication software and other data associated with the media playbacksystem 100 and the user.

In one example, the network interface 306 may be based on an industrystandard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on). Thenetwork interface 306 may provide a means for the control device 300 tocommunicate with other devices in the media playback system 100. In oneexample, data and information (e.g., such as a state variable) may becommunicated between control device 300 and other devices via thenetwork interface 306. For instance, playback zone and zone groupconfigurations in the media playback system 100 may be received by thecontrol device 300 from a playback device or another network device, ortransmitted by the control device 300 to another playback device ornetwork device via the network interface 306. In some cases, the othernetwork device may be another control device.

Playback device control commands such as volume control and audioplayback control may also be communicated from the control device 300 toa playback device via the network interface 306. As suggested above,changes to configurations of the media playback system 100 may also beperformed by a user using the control device 300. The configurationchanges may include adding/removing one or more playback devices to/froma zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forminga bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devicesfrom a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Accordingly, thecontrol device 300 may sometimes be referred to as a controller, whetherthe control device 300 is a dedicated controller or a network device onwhich media playback system controller application software isinstalled.

Control device 300 may include microphone(s) 310. Microphone(s) 310 maybe arranged to detect sound in the environment of the control device300. Microphone(s) 310 may be any type of microphone now known or laterdeveloped such as a condenser microphone, electret condenser microphone,or a dynamic microphone. The microphone(s) may be sensitive to a portionof a frequency range. Two or more microphones 310 may be arranged tocapture location information of an audio source (e.g., voice, audiblesound) and/or to assist in filtering background noise.

The user interface 308 of the control device 300 may be configured tofacilitate user access and control of the media playback system 100, byproviding a controller interface such as the controller interface 400shown in FIG. 4. The controller interface 400 includes a playbackcontrol region 410, a playback zone region 420, a playback status region430, a playback queue region 440, and an audio content sources region450. The user interface 400 as shown is just one example of a userinterface that may be provided on a network device such as the controldevice 300 of FIG. 3 (and/or the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG. 1)and accessed by users to control a media playback system such as themedia playback system 100. Other user interfaces of varying formats,styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented onone or more network devices to provide comparable control access to amedia playback system.

The playback control region 410 may include selectable (e.g., by way oftouch or by using a cursor) icons to cause playback devices in aselected playback zone or zone group to play or pause, fast forward,rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode,enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode. The playback controlregion 410 may also include selectable icons to modify equalizationsettings, and playback volume, among other possibilities.

The playback zone region 420 may include representations of playbackzones within the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, thegraphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bringup additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zonesin the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones,creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, and renaming of zonegroups, among other possibilities.

For example, as shown, a “group” icon may be provided within each of thegraphical representations of playback zones. The “group” icon providedwithin a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectableto bring up options to select one or more other zones in the mediaplayback system to be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped,playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particularzone will be configured to play audio content in synchrony with theplayback device(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” iconmay be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group. Inthis case, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options todeselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zonegroup. Other interactions and implementations for grouping andungrouping zones via a user interface such as the user interface 400 arealso possible. The representations of playback zones in the playbackzone region 420 may be dynamically updated as playback zone or zonegroup configurations are modified.

The playback status region 430 may include graphical representations ofaudio content that is presently being played, previously played, orscheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. Theselected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished onthe user interface, such as within the playback zone region 420 and/orthe playback status region 430. The graphical representations mayinclude track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length,and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to knowwhen controlling the media playback system via the user interface 400.

The playback queue region 440 may include graphical representations ofaudio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playbackzone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zonegroup may be associated with a playback queue containing informationcorresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playbackzone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queuemay comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playbackdevice in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve theaudio item from a local audio content source or a networked audiocontent source, possibly for playback by the playback device.

In one example, a playlist may be added to a playback queue, in whichcase information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may beadded to the playback queue. In another example, audio items in aplayback queue may be saved as a playlist. In a further example, aplayback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when theplayback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audiocontent, such as Internet radio that may continue to play untilotherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playbackdurations. In an alternative embodiment, a playback queue can includeInternet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “inuse” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items. Otherexamples are also possible.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,”playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zonegroups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playbackzone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playbackzone including a second playback queue, the established zone group mayhave an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that containsaudio items from the first playback queue (such as if the secondplayback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audioitems from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zonewas added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio itemsfrom both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if theestablished zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zonemay be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or beassociated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audioitems from the playback queue associated with the established zone groupbefore the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, theresulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previoussecond playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue thatis empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associatedwith the established zone group before the established zone group wasungrouped. Other examples are also possible.

Referring back to the user interface 400 of FIG. 4, the graphicalrepresentations of audio content in the playback queue region 440 mayinclude track titles, artist names, track lengths, and other relevantinformation associated with the audio content in the playback queue. Inone example, graphical representations of audio content may beselectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage and/ormanipulate the playback queue and/or audio content represented in theplayback queue. For instance, a represented audio content may be removedfrom the playback queue, moved to a different position within theplayback queue, or selected to be played immediately, or after anycurrently playing audio content, among other possibilities. A playbackqueue associated with a playback zone or zone group may be stored in amemory on one or more playback devices in the playback zone or zonegroup, on a playback device that is not in the playback zone or zonegroup, and/or some other designated device.

The audio content sources region 450 may include graphicalrepresentations of selectable audio content sources from which audiocontent may be retrieved and played by the selected playback zone orzone group. Discussions pertaining to audio content sources may be foundin the following section.

d. Example Audio Content Sources

As indicated previously, one or more playback devices in a zone or zonegroup may be configured to retrieve for playback audio content (e.g.according to a corresponding URI or URL for the audio content) from avariety of available audio content sources. In one example, audiocontent may be retrieved by a playback device directly from acorresponding audio content source (e.g., a line-in connection). Inanother example, audio content may be provided to a playback device overa network via one or more other playback devices or network devices.

Example audio content sources may include a memory of one or moreplayback devices in a media playback system such as the media playbacksystem 100 of FIG. 1, local music libraries on one or more networkdevices (such as a control device, a network-enabled personal computer,or a networked-attached storage (NAS), for example), streaming audioservices providing audio content via the Internet (e.g., the cloud), oraudio sources connected to the media playback system via a line-in inputconnection on a playback device or network devise, among otherpossibilities.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from a media playback system such as the media playback system100 of FIG. 1. In one example, an indexing of audio items may beperformed whenever one or more audio content sources are added, removedor updated. Indexing of audio items may involve scanning foridentifiable audio items in all folders/directory shared over a networkaccessible by playback devices in the media playback system, andgenerating or updating an audio content database containing metadata(e.g., title, artist, album, track length, among others) and otherassociated information, such as a URI or URL for each identifiable audioitem found. Other examples for managing and maintaining audio contentsources may also be possible.

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices,playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide onlysome examples of operating environments within which functions andmethods described below may be implemented. Other operating environmentsand configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, andnetwork devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicableand suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

e. Example Plurality of Networked Devices

FIG. 5 shows an example plurality of devices 500 that may be configuredto provide an audio playback experience based on voice control. Onehaving ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the devices shownin FIG. 5 are for illustrative purposes only, and variations includingdifferent and/or additional (or fewer) devices may be possible. Asshown, the plurality of devices 500 includes computing devices 504, 506,and 508; network microphone devices (NMDs) 512, 514, and 516; playbackdevices (PBDs) 532, 534, 536, and 538; and a controller device (CR) 522.

Each of the plurality of devices 500 may be network-capable devices thatcan establish communication with one or more other devices in theplurality of devices according to one or more network protocols, such asNFC, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and IEEE 802.11, among other examples, overone or more types of networks, such as wide area networks (WAN), localarea networks (LAN), and personal area networks (PAN), among otherpossibilities.

As shown, the computing devices 504, 506, and 508 may be part of a cloudnetwork 502. The cloud network 502 may include additional computingdevices. In one example, the computing devices 504, 506, and 508 may bedifferent servers. In another example, two or more of the computingdevices 504, 506, and 508 may be modules of a single server.Analogously, each of the computing device 504, 506, and 508 may includeone or more modules or servers. For ease of illustration purposesherein, each of the computing devices 504, 506, and 508 may beconfigured to perform particular functions within the cloud network 502.For instance, computing device 508 may be a source of audio content fora streaming music service.

As shown, the computing device 504 may be configured to interface withNMDs 512, 514, and 516 via communication path 542. NMDs 512, 514, and516 may be components of one or more “Smart Home” systems. In one case,NMDs 512, 514, and 516 may be physically distributed throughout ahousehold, similar to the distribution of devices shown in FIG. 1. Inanother case, two or more of the NMDs 512, 514, and 516 may bephysically positioned within relative close proximity of one another.Communication path 542 may comprise one or more types of networks, suchas a WAN including the Internet, LAN, and/or PAN, among otherpossibilities.

In one example, one or more of the NMDs 512, 514, and 516 may be devicesconfigured primarily for audio detection. In another example, one ormore of the NMDs 512, 514, and 516 may be components of devices havingvarious primary utilities. For instance, as discussed above inconnection to FIGS. 2 and 3, one or more of NMDs 512, 514, and 516 maybe the microphone(s) 220 of playback device 200 or the microphone(s) 310of network device 300. Further, in some cases, one or more of NMDs 512,514, and 516 may be the playback device 200 or network device 300. In anexample, one or more of NMDs 512, 514, and/or 516 may include multiplemicrophones arranged in a microphone array. In some embodiments, one ormore of NMDs 512, 514, and/or 516 may be a microphone on a mobilecomputing device (e.g., a smartphone, tablet, or other computingdevice).

As shown, the computing device 506 may be configured to interface withCR 522 and PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538 via communication path 544. Inone example, CR 522 may be a network device such as the network device200 of FIG. 2. Accordingly, CR 522 may be configured to provide thecontroller interface 400 of FIG. 4. Similarly, PBDs 532, 534, 536, and538 may be playback devices such as the playback device 300 of FIG. 3.As such, PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538 may be physically distributedthroughout a household as shown in FIG. 1. For illustration purposes,PBDs 536 and 538 may be part of a bonded zone 530, while PBDs 532 and534 may be part of their own respective zones. As described above, thePBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538 may be dynamically bonded, grouped,unbonded, and ungrouped. Communication path 544 may comprise one or moretypes of networks, such as a WAN including the Internet, LAN, and/orPAN, among other possibilities.

In one example, as with NMDs 512, 514, and 516, CR 522 and PBDs 532,534, 536, and 538 may also be components of one or more “Smart Home”systems. In one case, PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538 may be distributedthroughout the same household as the NMDs 512, 514, and 516. Further, assuggested above, one or more of PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538 may be oneor more of NMDs 512, 514, and 516.

The NMDs 512, 514, and 516 may be part of a local area network, and thecommunication path 542 may include an access point that links the localarea network of the NMDs 512, 514, and 516 to the computing device 504over a WAN (communication path not shown). Likewise, each of the NMDs512, 514, and 516 may communicate with each other via such an accesspoint.

Similarly, CR 522 and PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538 may be part of a localarea network and/or a local playback network as discussed in previoussections, and the communication path 544 may include an access pointthat links the local area network and/or local playback network of CR522 and PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538 to the computing device 506 over aWAN. As such, each of the CR 522 and PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538 mayalso communicate with each over such an access point.

In one example, communication paths 542 and 544 may comprise the sameaccess point. In an example, each of the NMDs 512, 514, and 516, CR 522,and PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538 may access the cloud network 502 via thesame access point for a household.

As shown in FIG. 5, each of the NMDs 512, 514, and 516, CR 522, and PBDs532, 534, 536, and 538 may also directly communicate with one or more ofthe other devices via communication means 546. Communication means 546as described herein may involve one or more forms of communicationbetween the devices, according to one or more network protocols, overone or more types of networks, and/or may involve communication via oneor more other network devices. For instance, communication means 546 mayinclude one or more of for example, Bluetooth™ (IEEE 802.15), NFC,Wireless direct, and/or Proprietary wireless, among other possibilities.

In one example, CR 522 may communicate with NMD 512 over Bluetooth™, andcommunicate with PBD 534 over another local area network. In anotherexample, NMD 514 may communicate with CR 522 over another local areanetwork, and communicate with PBD 536 over Bluetooth. In a furtherexample, each of the PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538 may communicate witheach other according to a spanning tree protocol over a local playbacknetwork, while each communicating with CR 522 over a local area network,different from the local playback network. Other examples are alsopossible.

In some cases, communication means between the NMDs 512, 514, and 516,CR 522, and PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538 may change depending on types ofcommunication between the devices, network conditions, and/or latencydemands. For instance, communication means 546 may be used when NMD 516is first introduced to the household with the PBDs 532, 534, 536, and538. In one case, the NMD 516 may transmit identification informationcorresponding to the NMD 516 to PBD 538 via NFC, and PBD 538 may inresponse, transmit local area network information to NMD 516 via NFC (orsome other form of communication). However, once NMD 516 has beenconfigured within the household, communication means between NMD 516 andPBD 538 may change. For instance, NMD 516 may subsequently communicatewith PBD 538 via communication path 542, the cloud network 502, andcommunication path 544. In another example, the NMDs and PBDs may nevercommunicate via local communications means 546. In a further example,the NMDs and PBDs may communicate primarily via local communicationsmeans 546. Other examples are also possible.

In an illustrative example, NMDs 512, 514, and 516 may be configured toreceive voice inputs to control PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538. Theavailable control commands may include any media playback systemcontrols previously discussed, such as playback volume control, playbacktransport controls, music source selection, and grouping, among otherpossibilities. In one instance, NMD 512 may receive a voice input tocontrol one or more of the PBDs 532, 534, 536, and 538. In response toreceiving the voice input, NMD 512 may transmit via communication path542, the voice input to computing device 504 for processing. In oneexample, the computing device 504 may convert the voice input to anequivalent text command, and parse the text command to identify acommand. Computing device 504 may then subsequently transmit the textcommand to the computing device 506, and computing device 506 in turnmay then control one or more of PBDs 532-538 to execute the command. Inanother example, the computing device 504 may convert the voice input toan equivalent text command, and then subsequently transmit the textcommand to the computing device 506. The computing device 506 may thenparse the text command to identify one or more playback commands, andthen computing device 506 may additionally control one or more of PBDs532-538 to execute the command.

For instance, if the text command is “Play ‘Track 1’ by ‘Artist 1’ from‘Streaming Service 1’ in ‘Zone 1’,” The computing device 506 mayidentify (i) a URL for “Track 1” by “Artist 1” available from “StreamingService 1,” and (ii) at least one playback device in “Zone 1.” In thisexample, the URL for “Track 1” by “Artist 1” from “Streaming Service 1”may be a URL pointing to computing device 508, and “Zone 1” may be thebonded zone 530. As such, upon identifying the URL and one or both ofPBDs 536 and 538, the computing device 506 may transmit viacommunication path 544 to one or both of PBDs 536 and 538, theidentified URL for playback. One or both of PBDs 536 and 538 mayresponsively retrieve audio content from the computing device 508according to the received URL, and begin playing “Track 1” by “Artist 1”from “Streaming Service 1.”

One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the above isjust one illustrative example, and that other implementations are alsopossible. In one case, operations performed by one or more of theplurality of devices 500, as described above, may be performed by one ormore other devices in the plurality of device 500. For instance, theconversion from voice input to the text command may be alternatively,partially, or wholly performed by another device or devices, such as NMD512, computing device 506, PBD 536, and/or PBD 538. Analogously, theidentification of the URL may be alternatively, partially, or whollyperformed by another device or devices, such as NMD 512, computingdevice 504, PBD 536, and/or PBD 538.

f. Example Network Microphone Device

FIG. 6 shows a function block diagram of an example network microphonedevice 600 that may be configured to be one or more of NMDs 512, 514,and 516 of FIG. 5. As shown, the network microphone device 600 includesone or more processors 602, memory 604, a microphone array 606 (e.g.,one or more microphones), a network interface 608, a user interface 610,software components 612, and speaker(s) 614. One having ordinary skillin the art will appreciate that other network microphone deviceconfigurations and arrangements are also possible. For instance, networkmicrophone devices may alternatively exclude the speaker(s) 614 or havea single microphone instead of microphone array 606.

The one or more processors 602 may include one or more processors and/orcontrollers, which may take the form of a general or special-purposeprocessor or controller. For instance, the one or more processors 602may include microprocessors, microcontrollers, application-specificintegrated circuits, digital signal processors, and the like. The memory604 may be data storage that can be loaded with one or more of thesoftware components executable by the one or more processors 602 toperform those functions. Accordingly, memory 604 may comprise one ormore non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums, examples of whichmay include volatile storage mediums such as random access memory,registers, cache, etc. and non-volatile storage mediums such asread-only memory, a hard-disk drive, a solid-state drive, flash memory,and/or an optical-storage device, among other possibilities.

The microphone array 606 may be a plurality of microphones arranged todetect sound in the environment of the network microphone device 600.Microphone array 606 may include any type of microphone now known orlater developed such as a condenser microphone, electret condensermicrophone, or a dynamic microphone, among other possibilities. In oneexample, the microphone array may be arranged to detect audio from oneor more directions relative to the network microphone device. Themicrophone array 606 may be sensitive to a portion of a frequency range.In one example, a first subset of the microphone array 606 may besensitive to a first frequency range, while a second subset of themicrophone array may be sensitive to a second frequency range. Themicrophone array 606 may further be arranged to capture locationinformation of an audio source (e.g., voice, audible sound) and/or toassist in filtering background noise. Notably, in some embodiments themicrophone array may consist of only a single microphone, rather than aplurality of microphones.

The network interface 608 may be configured to facilitate wirelessand/or wired communication between various network devices, such as, inreference to FIG. 5, CR 522, PBDs 532-538, computing devices 504-508 incloud network 502, and other network microphone devices, among otherpossibilities. As such, network interface 608 may take any suitable formfor carrying out these functions, examples of which may include anEthernet interface, a serial bus interface (e.g., FireWire, USB 2.0,etc.), a chipset and antenna adapted to facilitate wirelesscommunication, and/or any other interface that provides for wired and/orwireless communication. In one example, the network interface 608 may bebased on an industry standard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standardsincluding IEEE 802.3, wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a,802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communicationstandard, and so on).

The user interface 610 of the network microphone device 600 may beconfigured to facilitate user interactions with the network microphonedevice. In one example, the user interface 608 may include one or moreof physical buttons, graphical interfaces provided on touch sensitivescreen(s) and/or surface(s), among other possibilities, for a user todirectly provide input to the network microphone device 600. The userinterface 610 may further include one or more of lights and thespeaker(s) 614 to provide visual and/or audio feedback to a user. In oneexample, the network microphone device 600 may further be configured toplayback audio content via the speaker(s) 614.

III. Example Systems and Methods

In some embodiments, it is desirable for one of the media playbackdevices (such as any of PBDs 532-538) of the media playback system toperform functions and/or provide feedback in response to a voice commandreceived via a networked microphone device (any of NMDs 512-516) of thenetworked microphone system.

In the context of this disclosure, performing a function may include anyaction taken by any one or more components of the media playback systemin response to a voice command. For example, in response to a voicecommand to “Play Led Zeppelin” received via the networked microphonesystem, the media playback system (or perhaps one or more PBDs of themedia playback system) performs the function of playing a song by theband Led Zeppelin. In another example, in response to a voice command to“Combine the kitchen and living zones into a synchrony group” receivedvia the networked microphone system, the media playback system (orperhaps one or more PBDs of the media playback system, individually orin combination with CR 522 and/or computing device 506) may configurethe PBDs in the kitchen zone and the living room zone into a synchronygroup, wherein after configuring the PBDs in the kitchen and living roomzones into a synchrony group, the PBDs in the kitchen zone and the PBDsin the living room zone are configured to play back media in synchronywith each other, as described herein.

In the context of this disclosure, feedback is some audible, visual,tangible, or other type of response to a voice command. For example, inresponse to a voice command of “What is the current temperatureoutside?”, the networked microphone system may instruct one or more ofthe PBDs in the media playback system to respond with the currentoutdoor temperature. In some embodiments, this feedback may be anaudible statement of “The current temperature is 75 degrees” that isplayed by one of the PBDs of the media playback system. Similarly, inresponse to a voice command of “What is the name of this song?”, thenetworked microphone system may instruct one or more of the PBDs of themedia playback system to respond with the title of the song. In someembodiments, this feedback may be an audible statement of “The currentsong is All You Need is Love by The Beatles” that is played by one ofthe PBDs of the media playback system. Instead of audible feedback, insome embodiments, the feedback may be visual or tangible/haptic, asdescribed herein.

In some embodiments, a particular PBD of the media playback system isdesignated as a primary PBD for a particular NMD of the networkedmicrophone system. In operation, the primary PBD for a particular NMD isthe PBD that is configured to perform functions and/or provide feedbackto voice commands received by that particular NMD. In some embodiments,different NMDs may have different corresponding primary PBDs. Forexample, the primary PBD for an NMD located in the kitchen zone might bea PBD also located in the kitchen zone. Similarly, the primary PBD foran NMD located in the bedroom zone might be a PBD also located in thebedroom zone. In other embodiments, a single PBD may be the primary PBDfor the networked microphone system. In still further embodiments, acomputing device configured to control the media playback system may actas the primary PBD in terms of performing functions and/or providingfeedback to voice commands received via one or more NMDs of thenetworked microphone system.

In operation, an NMD of the networked microphone system receives a voicecommand. The voice command may be any type of command or request forinformation. If a response (i.e., feedback) to the voice command isdesirable or perhaps even required, then the networked microphone systeminstructs the media playback system to provide feedback (and perhapsalso the content of the feedback) in response to the voice command.

In some embodiments, to instruct the media playback system to providefeedback in response to a voice command, the networked microphone systemfirst determines whether the primary PBD associated with the NMD thatreceived the voice command is available to provide feedback in responseto the voice command. Alternatively, some embodiments may include thenetworked microphone system instructing the primary PBD associated withthe NMD that received the voice command to provide the feedback inresponse to the voice command without first checking whether the primaryPBD is available to provide feedback in response to the voice command.

In operation, determining whether the primary PBD associated with theNMD that received the voice command is available to provide feedback inresponse to the voice command may include determining whether theprimary PBD associated with the NMD that received the voice command isone or more of: (i) muted, (ii) in a do not interrupt state, (iii) in apower save mode, (iv) unreachable via a network configured to supportcommunications between the media playback system and the NMD, (v)unplugged, or (vi) powered off. The primary PBD may alternatively beunavailable if the primary PBD has been moved from its typical locationso that providing feedback in response to the voice command might not behelpful. For example, if the primary PBD for a particular NMD in thekitchen was moved from the kitchen to the bedroom, then it may not behelpful for the primary PBD to provide feedback in response to voicecommand received via the NMD in the kitchen because a user in thekitchen might not hear feedback from the primary PBD while the primaryPBD is in the bedroom. In some embodiments, the networked microphonesystem may determine that the primary PBD is unavailable after thenetworked microphone system instructs the primary PBD to perform afunction or provide feedback, but then the networked microphone systemfails to receive a confirmation from the primary PBD that the primaryPBD has performed the desired function or provided the desired feedback.

In some embodiments, the media playback system may inform the networkedmicrophone system of the state (available vs. unavailable) of particularPBDs in the media playback system. For example, if the media playbacksystem knows that PBD 534 is in a “do not interrupt” state because, forexample, PBD 534 is playing audio content associated with a movie, thenthe media playback system may inform the networked microphone systemthat PBD 534 is unavailable but that PBDs 532, 536, and 538 areavailable. In some embodiments, the media playback system may inform thenetworked microphone system of the availability (or unavailability) ofPBDs whenever a PBD changes state from available to unavailable or viceversa. In some embodiments, the media playback system may periodicallyor semi-periodically inform the networked microphone system as to whichPBDs in the media playback system are available or not available. Forexample, the media playback system may inform the networked microphonesystem as to which PBDs are available or unavailable every few seconds,every few minutes, or on some other regular or semi-regular basis.

In operation, one or more components of media playback system (i.e., anyof PBDs 532-538, CR 522, and/or computing device 506) may send statemessaging to any one or more components of the networked microphonesystem (i.e., any of NMDs 512-516 and/or computing device 504) via anycommunication path between the media playback system and the networkedmicrophone system. For example, PBD 532 may inform computing device 504that PBD 532 is now available to perform functions and/or providefeedback in response to voice commands by sending state change messagingto one or more components of the networked microphone system vianetworks 546 and/or 542. In another example, computing device 506 mayinform computing device 504 as to state (available vs. unavailable) ofindividual PBDs 532-538. In yet another example, CR 522 may inform oneor more components of the networked microphone system as to the state(available vs. unavailable) of individual PBDs 532-538. The mediaplayback system may inform the networked microphone system of PBD statechanges in other ways too.

In some embodiments, the media playback system may inform the networkedmicrophone system of the state (available vs. unavailable) of particularPBDs in the media playback system on an PBD by PBD and an NMD by NMDbasis. For example, the media playback system may indicated that activePBDs in the kitchen are available to provide feedback in response tovoice commands received from NMDs in the kitchen, but that active PBDsin other rooms are not available to provide feedback in response tovoice commands received from NMDs in the kitchen.

In response to determining that the primary PBD associated with the NMDthat received the voice command is available to perform a functionand/or provide feedback in response to the voice command, the networkedmicrophone system (e.g., any of NMDs 512-516 or computing device 504,individually or in combination) instructs the primary PBD to perform thefunction and/or provide a first feedback in response to the voicecommand.

In operation, the networked microphone system may instruct the primaryPBD to perform the function called for in the voice command eitherdirectly or indirectly. For example, in some embodiments, one of theNMDs 512-516 may instruct the primary PBD directly via network 546 toperform the desired function. In other embodiments, one of the NMDs512-516 may instruct CR 522 via network 546 to perform the functioncalled for in the voice command, and CR 522 may then instruct theprimary PBD to perform the function. In still further embodiments,computing device 504 may instruct computing device 506 to perform thefunction called for by the voice command, and computing device 506 maythen instruct the primary PBD via network 544 to perform the function.In still further embodiments, computing device 504 may instruct CR 522to perform the function called for by the voice command, and computingdevice 504 may then instruct the primary PBD to perform the function. Instill further embodiments, computing device 504 may directly instructthe primary PBD to perform the function called for by the voice command.The networked microphone system may instruct the primary PBD to performfunctions in other direct or indirect ways as well

Similarly, in operation, the networked microphone system may instructthe primary PBD to provide the first feedback either directly orindirectly. For example, in some embodiments, one of the NMDs 512-516may instruct the primary PBD directly via network 546 to provide thefirst feedback. In other embodiments, one of the NMDs 512-516 mayinstruct CR 522 via network 546 to provide feedback, and CR 522 may theninstruct the primary PBD to provide the feedback. In still furtherembodiments, computing device 504 may instruct computing device 506 toprovide feedback, and computing device 506 may then instruct the primaryPBD via network 544 to provide the feedback. In still furtherembodiments, computing device 504 may instruct CR 522 to providefeedback, and computing device 504 may then instruct the primary PBD toprovide the feedback. In still further embodiments, computing device 504may directly instruct the primary PBD to provide the feedback. Thenetworked microphone system may instruct the primary PBD to provide thefirst feedback in other direct or indirect ways as well.

In some embodiments, the networked microphone system instructing theprimary PBD to provide the first feedback in response to the voicecommand may also include the networked microphone system providing theprimary PBD with the content of the first feedback. For example, inresponse to the voice command of “What is the name of this band?”, thenetworked microphone system (i.e., any of NMDs 512-516 or computingdevice 504, individually or in combination) may access metadata from thenetworked media system (i.e., from any of the PBDs 532-538 and computingdevice 506, individually or in combination) about the audio track thatthe media playback system is currently playing to determine the name ofthe band performing the currently playing track, and then instruct theprimary PBD to provide audio feedback of “The name of the band is TheBeatles.”

But in response to determining that the primary PBD associated with theNMD that received the voice command is not available to performfunctions or provide feedback in response to the voice commands, thenetworked microphone device may instruct a fallback device to performthe function or provide a second feedback in response to the voicecommand.

For example, if a particular NMD's primary PBD is unavailable to playback audio for some reason, then the networked microphone system(individually or in combination with the media playback system) mayinstruct a fallback PBD to play back the audio.

In some embodiments, when the voice command calls for feedback, thesecond feedback may be the same as the first feedback. For example, inresponse to the voice command of “What is the name of this band?”,rather than the networked microphone system instructing the primary PBDto provide audio feedback of “The name of the band is The Beatles,” thenetworked microphone system may instead instruct the fallback device toprovide audio feedback of “The name of the band is The Beatles.” Inoperation, the first feedback may be one or more of (i) an audiofeedback, such as a voice response (e.g., “The name of the band is TheBeatles”), a beep, or other audio indication, (ii) a visual feedback,such as a flashing light or other visual indication, and (iii) a hapticfeedback, such as a vibration or other haptic indication.

But in other embodiments, the second feedback may be different than thefirst feedback. In operation, the second feedback may be any one or moreof (i) an audio feedback, such as a voice response (e.g., “The name ofthe band is The Beatles”), a beep, or other audio indication, (ii) avisual feedback, such as a flashing light or other visual indication viathe fallback device (e.g., a text message or application notification),and (iii) a haptic feedback, such as a vibration or other haptic orphysical indication. Whether the second feedback is the same as ordifferent than the first feedback may depend on whether the fallbackdevice has the same output capabilities as the primary PBD. For example,some fallback devices may not have a speaker to provide audio feedbackIn some embodiments, the content of the second feedback may be differentthan the first feedback because the primary PBD is unavailable. Forexample, in the earlier scenario where the voice command is “What isthis band?”, the second feedback may be an audio indication from thefallback device that states “The primary playback device is offline; thename of the band is The Beatles.”

In some embodiments, the fallback device that performs the functionand/or provide the second feedback (depending on the content of thevoice command) is at least one of (i) another PBD in the media playbacksystem, (ii) a computing device configured to control the media playbacksystem, such as CR 522, (iii) the NMD that received the voice command,and/or (iv) another NMD of the networked microphone system.

In some embodiments, the networked microphone system (i.e., any of NMDs512-516 and computing device 504, individually or in combination) mayselect a fallback device from a set of one or more fallback devices. Inother embodiments, the media playback system (i.e., any of PBDs 532-538,CR 522, and computing device 506, individually or in combination) mayselect a fallback device from a set of one or more fallback devices. Ineither scenario, selecting a fallback device from a set of one or morefallback devices comprises one of (i) selecting a fallback deviceaccording to a pre-defined hierarchy of fallback devices, (ii) selectinga fallback device from one or more media playback devices configured toplayback media content in synchrony with the primary media playbackdevice, (iii) selecting a fallback device from one or more mediaplayback devices that were previously configured to playback mediacontent in synchrony with the primary media playback device, or (iv)selecting a secondary media playback device as the fallback device,wherein the primary media playback device is configured to play back afirst channel of media content and wherein the secondary media playbackdevice is configured to play back a second channel of the media content.

For example, some embodiments may have a pre-defined hierarchy offallback devices to select from. In some embodiments, the pre-definedhierarchy may be user configurable. In some embodiments, the pre-definedhierarchy may be configured by the manufacturer of the components of themedia playback system and/or the manufacturer of the components of thenetworked microphone system. In some embodiments, the computing device506 (or perhaps the computing device 504) may change the hierarchy offallback devices from time to time as the configuration of the networkedmicrophone system and/or the configuration of the media playback systemchanges over time.

According to one example hierarchy, one or both of the networkedmicrophone system or the media playback system, individually or incombination, may first determine whether the primary PBD is a member ofa bonded pair of PBDs, and if so, select the other PBD in the bondedpair as the fallback device.

But if the primary PBD is not a member of a bonded pair, then one orboth of the networked microphone system or the media playback system,individually or in combination, may determine whether the primary PBD isa member of a synchrony group, and if so, select a fallback device fromthe other PBD(s) in the synchrony group.

But if the primary PBD is not a member of a bonded pair or a synchronygroup, then one or both of the networked microphone system or the mediaplayback system, individually or in combination, may determine whetherthe media playback device includes any other PBDs, and if so, select afallback device from one of the other PBDs in the media playback system.

Then, if the primary PBD is not a member of a bonded pair or a synchronygroup, and if the primary PBD is the only PBD in the media playbacksystem, then one or both of the networked microphone system or the mediaplayback system, individually or in combination, may determine whetherthe computing device configured to control the media playback system(e.g., CR 522) is active, and if so, select the computing device asfallback device. In operation, CR 522 may provide audio feedback fromits own speakers, visual feedback on the screen (e.g., via the userinterface application controlling the media playback system, via anapplication notification, via a text message, or via some other visualfeedback), or haptic feedback (e.g., a vibration).

And finally, if the primary PBD is not a member of a bonded pair or asynchrony group, and if the primary PBD is the only PBD in the mediaplayback system, and if the computing device configured to control themedia playback system is not active, then one or both of the networkedmicrophone system or the media playback system, individually or incombination, may determine whether other network devices outside of themedia playback system are available to provide feedback, e.g., the NMDthat received the voice command, other NMDs in the networked microphonesystem, networked televisions, networked clock radios, or other devices,and if so, select a fallback device from the set of available networkeddevices that are not part of the media playback system. Otherpre-defined hierarchies of devices in any combination, order, orarrangement are possible as well.

Alternatively, rather than having a hierarchy of potential fallbackdevices, in some embodiments, one or both of the networked microphonesystem or the media playback system, individually or in combination, maybe configured to select a fallback device from one or more other PBDsassociated with the primary PBD, such as (i) one or more other PBDs in aconsolidated media playback device with the primary PBD, (ii) one ormore other PBDs in a bonded pair with the primary PBD, (iii) one or moreother PBDs in a synchrony group with the primary PBD, (iv) one or moreother PBDs that were previously in a consolidated playback device withthe primary PBD, (v) one or more other PBDs that were previously in abonded pair with the primary PBD, (vi) one or more other PBDs that werepreviously in a synchrony group with the primary PBD, (vii) one or moreother PBDs that are in the media playback system with the primary PBD,(viii) one or more other PBDs that were previously in the media playbacksystem with the primary PBD.

In some embodiments, the fallback device may additionally oralternatively indicate that the primary PBD is unavailable, such as viaone or more of (i) an audio indication, (ii) a visual indication, and(iii) a haptic indication. For example, in addition to (or perhapsinstead of) providing second feedback, the fallback device may indicate(e.g., inform the user) that the primary PBD that would ordinarilyprovide feedback in response to voice commands is currently unavailableto provide feedback in response to voice commands. In one example, theindication that the primary PBD is unavailable may be an audioindication that states, for example, “The primary playback device iscurrently unavailable.” This indication could be an audio indicationplayed out loud by any of (i) another PBD in the media playback system,(ii) a computing device configured to control the media playback system(e.g., CR 522), (iii) the NMD that received the voice command, (iv)another NMD in the networked microphone system, or (v) perhaps someother device in communication with the media playback system and/or thenetworked microphone system. Alternatively, the indication that theprimary PBD is unavailable my be any other type of audible, visual,and/or haptic indication. For example, if the fallback device is CR 522,the indication that the primary PBD is unavailable may be a text messageor application notification displayed on the screen of CR 522 and/or avibration by the CR 522 device.

Some embodiments may additionally include the controller device (e.g.,CR 522) and a PBD performing separate functions and/or providingseparate feedback to the user when the primary PBD is not available toperform functions and/or provide feedback in response to voice commands.In one example, the networked microphone system receives a voice commandto “Play All You Need is Love”, and after determining that the primaryPBD associated with the NMD that received the voice command isunavailable, the networked microphone system (alone or perhaps incombination with the media playback system) may both (i) instruct afallback device to play the song and (ii) instruct the controller todisplay a message to the user that the primary PBD is unavailable. Thus,in this manner, the fallback device performs the function and anotherdevice provides feedback.

The above-described examples describe the networked microphone system(or perhaps the media playback system) selecting the fallback device. Inoperation, the networked microphone system selecting the fallback devicemay include any of the NMDs 512-516 or the computing device 504(individually or in combination) selecting the fallback device.Similarly, the media playback system selecting the fallback device mayinclude any of the PBDs 532-538, CR 522, or computing device 506(individually or in combination) selecting the fallback device.

In addition to PBDs being available or unavailable to perform functionsand/or provide feedback in response to voice commands, NMDs may also beavailable or unavailable to receive voice commands. Like the notion ofindividual NMDs having a primary PBD described above, in someembodiments, an individual PBD may have a corresponding primary NMD. Forexample, just like a particular NMD in the kitchen may have acorresponding primary PBD that is also in the kitchen, the PDB in thekitchen may have the NMD in the kitchen configured as its primary NMD.In this manner, a particular NMD might be paired with a particular PBDsuch that the NMD is the primary NMD for the PBD and the PBD is theprimary PBD for the NMD. A formal software-based pairing between a NMDand a PBD is not required in all embodiments, but could be present insome embodiments.

Some embodiments include determining that a primary NMD of a networkedmicrophone system is not available to receive voice commands for a mediaplayback system having one or more PBDs. In operation, a primary NMD maybe unavailable because the NMD is (i) in a do not interrupt state, (ii)in a power save mode, (iii) unreachable via a network configured tosupport communications between the media playback system and the NMD,(iv) unplugged, or (v) powered off. The primary NMD may alternatively beunavailable if it has been moved to a different room than itscorresponding primary PBD (or if the NMD's corresponding primary PBD hasbeen moved to a different room).

In response to determining that the primary NMD is not available toreceive voice commands, one or both of the networked microphone systemand the media playback system, individually or in combination,designates a fallback microphone to receive voice commands for the mediaplayback system as a whole or for at least one PBD of the media playbacksystem.

In some embodiments, determining that a primary NMD of the networkedmicrophone system is not available to receive voice commands for themedia playback system (or at least one PBD of the media playback system)includes the media playback system receiving a message from thenetworked microphone system indicating that the primary NMD is notavailable to receive voice commands. For some embodiments whereindividual PBDs in the media playback system each have correspondingprimary NMDs in the networked microphone system, the networkedmicrophone system may indicate which NMDs are available vs. unavailableto receive voice commands on a PBD by PBD basis.

In some embodiments, the networked microphone system may periodically orsemi-periodically provide state information as to the availability orunavailability of individual NMDs of the networked microphone system tothe media playback system.

In some embodiments, the networked microphone system may inform themedia playback system of the state (available vs. unavailable) ofparticular NMDs in the networked microphone system. For example, if thenetworked microphone system knows that NMD 512 is in a “do notinterrupt” state because, for example, NMD 512 is executing a softwareor firmware upgrade, then the networked microphone system may inform themedia playback system that NMD 512 is unavailable but that NMDs 514 and516 are available. In some embodiments, the networked microphone systemmay inform the media playback system of the availability (orunavailability) of NMDs whenever an NMD changes state from available tounavailable or vice versa. In some embodiments, the networked microphonesystem may periodically or semi-periodically inform the media playbacksystem as to which NMDs in the networked microphone system are availableor not available. For example, the networked microphone system mayinform the media playback system as to which NMDs are available orunavailable every few seconds, every few minutes, or on some otherregular or semi-regular basis.

In operation, one or more components of the networked microphone system(i.e., any of NMDs 512-516 and/or computing device 504) may send statemessaging to any one or more components of the media playback system(i.e., any of PBDs 532-538, CR 522, and/or computing device 506) via anycommunication path between the networked microphone system and the mediaplayback system. For example, NMD 512 may inform computing device 506that NMD 512 is now available to receive voice commands by sending statechange messaging to one or more components of the media playback systemvia networks 546 and/or 544. In another example, computing device 504may inform computing device 506 as to state (available vs. unavailable)of individual NMDs 512-516. In yet another example, CR 522 may monitorthe availability of NMDs 512-516 and inform one or more other componentsof the media playback system as to the state (available vs. unavailable)of individual NMDs 512-516. The networked microphone system may advisethe media playback system of NMD state changes in other ways too.

In operation, one or both of the networked microphone system and themedia playback system, individually or in combination, may designate oneof a variety of available microphones as a fallback microphone toreceive voice commands. For example, in some embodiments, the fallbackmicrophone is a microphone on one of the PBDs in the media playbacksystem. In other embodiments, the fallback microphone may be amicrophone on a computing device configured to control the mediaplayback system, such as CR 522 for example. In other embodiments, thefallback microphone may be a microphone on a secondary NMD of thenetworked microphone system. In still further embodiments, the fallbackmicrophone may be a microphone on some other device in communicationwith one or both of the networked microphone system and/or the mediaplayback system.

In some embodiments, one or both of the networked microphone system andthe media playback system, individually or in combination, may select afallback microphone according to a defined hierarchy. For example, insome embodiments, one or both of the networked microphone system and themedia playback system, individually or in combination, may firstdetermine whether the networked microphone system includes one or moreadditional NMDs, and if so, one or both of the networked microphonesystem and the media playback system, individually or in combination,may select one of the other NMDs of the networked microphone system asthe fallback microphone for the media playback system (or select one ofthe other NMDs as the fallback microphone for one or more PBDs of themedia playback system).

If the networked microphone system does not have any other NMDs, thenone or both of the networked microphone system and the media playbacksystem, individually or in combination, may select one of the PBDs ofthe media playback system to use its onboard microphone (if so equipped)as the fallback microphone for receiving voice commands for the mediaplayback system (or for one or more PBDs of the media playback system).Next, if the networked microphone system does not have any additionalNMDs, and if none of the PBDs in the media playback system havemicrophones, then one or both of the networked microphone system and themedia playback system, individually or in combination, may select thecomputing device configured to control the media playback system (e.g.,CF 522) to use its microphone as the fallback microphone for receivingvoice commands for the media playback system (or at least for one ormore PBDs of the media playback system).

And if the networked microphone system does not have any other NMDs, ifnone of the PBDs in the media playback system have a microphone (or ifthe microphones are not usable or if the PBDs are positioned in alocation that makes its microphone unusable or at least undesirable foruse because it is in a remote location of the house), and if thecomputing device configured to control the media playback system (e.g.,CR 522) does not have a microphone (or if the microphone is in use bysome other application running on CR 522, e.g., if CR 522 is engaged ina telephone call), then one or both of the networked microphone systemand the media playback system, individually or in combination, mayselect some other device on the network with a microphone to use thatmicrophone as a fallback microphone for receiving voice commands for themedia playback system. Other hierarchies of fallback microphoneselection could be used as well, including any combination of theabove-described fallback microphones in any order. In some embodiments,the fallback microphone selection hierarchy may be user configurable.

In some embodiments, in response to determining that the primary NMD isnot available to receive voice commands, one or both of the networkedmicrophone system and the media playback system, individually or incombination, may additionally instruct another device to indicate thatthe primary NMD is unavailable. In operation, indicating that theprimary NMD is unavailable comprises one or more of (i) an audioindication, (ii) a visual indication, and (iii) a haptic indication. Inoperation, the other device that indicates that the primary NMD isunavailable may include any of (i) any of the PBDs in the media playbacksystem, (ii) another NMD in the networked microphone system, (iii) anycomputing device configured to control the media playback system, e.g.,CR 522, or (iv) any other device in communication with the networkedmicrophone system and/or the media playback system and configurable toprovide or otherwise output an indication that the primary NMD is notavailable to receive voice commands.

Method 700 shown in FIG. 7 presents an embodiment of a method that canbe implemented within an operating environment including or involving,for example, the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one or moreplayback devices 200 of FIG. 2, one or more control devices 300 of FIG.3, the user interface of FIG. 4, the configuration shown in FIG. 5,and/or the networked microphone device of FIG. 6. Method 700 may includeone or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one ormore of blocks 702-706. Although the blocks are illustrated insequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/orin a different order than those described herein. Also, the variousblocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additionalblocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 700 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of some embodiments. In this regard, each blockmay represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code, whichincludes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedium, for example, such as tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedia that stores data for short periods of time like register memory,processor cache and Random Access Memory (RAM). The computer readablemedium may also include non-transitory media, such as secondary orpersistent long term storage, like read only memory (ROM), optical ormagnetic disks, compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. Thecomputer readable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatilestorage systems. The computer readable medium may be considered acomputer readable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storagedevice. In addition, for the method 700 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, each block in FIG. 7 may represent circuitry that iswired to perform the specific logical functions in the process.

Method 700 begins at block 702, which includes receiving a voice commandvia a networked microphone device configured to receive voice commandsfor a media playback system, wherein the media playback system comprisesa primary media playback device configured to provide a first feedbackin response to voice commands received via the networked microphonedevice. In some embodiments, the first feedback is one or more of (i) anaudio feedback, (ii) a visual feedback, and (iii) a haptic feedback asdescribed herein.

In some embodiments, method block 702 may additionally or alternativelyinclude receiving a voice command via a networked microphone deviceconfigured to receive voice commands for a media playback system,wherein the media playback system comprises a primary media playbackdevice configured to perform a function in response to voice commandsreceived via the networked microphone device. In some embodiments, thefunction is one or more of (i) a playback function, e.g., start/stopplayback, skip a track, (ii) a playlist function, e.g., add/remove atrack from a playlist, (iii) a playback device configuration function,e.g., raise/lower volume, change equalizer settings, (iv) a mediaplayback system configuration function, e.g., group playback devicesinto a synchrony group, activate a zone scene, and/or (v) any otherfunction that can be performed by a playback device individually or bythe media playback system as a whole.

Next, method 700 advances to block 704, which includes determining thatthe primary media playback device is not available to provide the firstfeedback in response to the voice command. In some embodiments, methodblock 704 may additionally or alternatively include determining that theprimary media playback device is not available to perform the functioncalled for in the voice command.

In some embodiments, determining that the primary media playback deviceis not available to provide the first feedback and/or perform functionsin response to the voice command comprises determining that the primarymedia playback device is one of (i) muted, (ii) in a do not interruptstate, (iii) in a power save mode, or (iv) unreachable via a networkconfigured to support communications between the media playback systemand the networked microphone device. In some embodiments, determiningthat the primary media playback device is not available to provide thefirst feedback and/or perform functions in response to the voice commandcomprises receiving a message from the media playback system indicatingthat the primary media playback device is not available.

In some embodiments, method 700 additionally includes the optional stepof selecting a fallback device from a set of one or more fallbackdevices. In some embodiments, selecting a fallback device from a set ofone or more fallback devices comprises one of (i) selecting a fallbackdevice according to a pre-defined hierarchy of fallback devices, (ii)selecting a fallback device from one or more media playback devicesconfigured to playback media content in synchrony with the primary mediaplayback device, (iii) selecting a fallback device from one or moremedia playback devices that were previously configured to playback mediacontent in synchrony with the primary media playback device, or (iv)selecting a secondary media playback device as the fallback device,wherein the primary media playback device is configured to play back afirst channel of media content and wherein the secondary media playbackdevice is configured to play back a second channel of the media content.The fallback device may be any one of (i) another media playback deviceof the media playback system, (ii) a computing device configured tocontrol the media playback system, or (iii) the networked microphonedevice.

Finally, method 700 advances to block 706, which includes, in responseto determining that the primary media playback device is not availableto provide the first feedback in response to the voice command,instructing a fallback device to provide a second feedback in responseto the voice command. In some embodiments, the second feedback is one ormore of (i) an audio feedback, (ii) a visual feedback, and (iii) ahaptic feedback as described herein. In some embodiments, the secondfeedback is the same as the first feedback.

In some embodiments, block 706 may additionally or alternative include,in response to determining that the primary media playback device is notavailable to perform functions in response to the voice command,instructing a fallback device to perform the function or functionscalled for in the voice command.

Some embodiments of method 700 may additionally include in response todetermining that the primary media playback device is not available toprovide the first feedback and/or perform functions in response to thevoice command, additionally instructing the fallback device to indicatethat the primary media playback device is unavailable, whereinindicating that the primary media playback device is unavailablecomprises one or more of (i) an audio indication, (ii) a visualindication, and (iii) a haptic indication, as described herein.

Method 800 shown in FIG. 8 presents an embodiment of a method that canbe implemented within an operating environment including or involving,for example, the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one or moreplayback devices 200 of FIG. 2, one or more control devices 300 of FIG.3, the user interface of FIG. 4, the configuration shown in FIG. 5,and/or the networked microphone device of FIG. 6. Method 800 may includeone or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one ormore of blocks 802-804. Although the blocks are illustrated insequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/orin a different order than those described herein. Also, the variousblocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additionalblocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 800 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of some embodiments. In this regard, each blockmay represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code, whichincludes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedium, for example, such as tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedia that stores data for short periods of time like register memory,processor cache and Random Access Memory (RAM). The computer readablemedium may also include non-transitory media, such as secondary orpersistent long term storage, like read only memory (ROM), optical ormagnetic disks, compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. Thecomputer readable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatilestorage systems. The computer readable medium may be considered acomputer readable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storagedevice. In addition, for the method 800 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, each block in FIG. 8 may represent circuitry that iswired to perform the specific logical functions in the process.

Method 800 begins at block 802, which includes determining that aprimary networked microphone device of a networked microphone system isnot available to receive voice commands for a media playback system,wherein the media playback system comprises one or more media playbackdevices.

In some embodiments, the primary networked microphone device may beunavailable to receive voice commands because the networked microphonedevice is (i) in a do not interrupt state, (ii) in a power save mode,(iii) unreachable via a network configured to support communicationsbetween the media playback system and the networked microphone device,(iv) unplugged, or (v) powered off. The primary networked microphonedevice may alternatively be unavailable if it has been moved to adifferent room than its corresponding primary media playback device (orif the networked microphone device's corresponding primary mediaplayback device has been moved to a different room). In someembodiments, determining that a primary networked microphone device of anetworked microphone system is not available to receive voice commandsfor a media playback system comprises receiving a message indicatingthat the primary microphone device is not available to receive voicecommands.

Next, method 800 advances to block 804, which includes in response todetermining that the primary networked microphone device is notavailable to receive voice commands, designating a fallback microphoneto receive voice commands for the media playback system. In operation,the step of designating a fallback microphone to receive voice commandsfor the media playback system may be performed by any component(s) ofthe networked microphone system (e.g., with reference to FIG. 5, any ofNMDs 512-516 or computing device 504, individually or in combination) orany component(s) of the media playback system (e.g., with reference toFIG. 5, any of PBDs 532-538, CR 522, or computing device 506,individually or in combination).

In operation, the fallback microphone may include any of (i) amicrophone on a media playback device in the media playback system(e.g., a microphone on any of PBDs 532-538), (ii) a microphone on acomputing device configured to control the media playback system (e.g.,CR 522 in FIG. 5), (iii) a microphone on a secondary networkedmicrophone device of the networked microphone system, or (iv) anothermicrophone on another device in communication with the networkedmicrophone system and/or the media playback system.

In some embodiments, method 800 may additionally or alternativelyinclude the step of in response to determining that the primarynetworked microphone device is not available to receive voice commands,additionally instructing a computing device configured to control themedia playback system to indicate that the primary networked microphonedevice is unavailable, wherein indicating that the primary networkedmicrophone device is unavailable comprises one or more of (i) an audioindication, (ii) a visual indication, and (iii) a haptic indication, asdescribed herein. Also, in some embodiments, method 800 may additionallyor alternatively include the step of in response to determining that theprimary networked microphone device is not available to receive voicecommands, additionally instructing one or more media playback devices ofthe media playback system to indicate that the primary networkedmicrophone device is unavailable, wherein indicating that the primarynetworked microphone device is unavailable comprises one or more of (i)an audio indication, (ii) a visual indication, and (iii) a hapticindication, as described herein.

IV. Conclusion

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyway(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

1. A system comprising: at least one processor; non-transitorycomputer-readable medium; and program instructions stored on thenon-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the atleast one processor such that the system is configured to: determinethat a first playback device has received a first voice command via atleast one microphone of the first playback device, wherein the firstplayback device is configured to receive voice commands for a mediaplayback system, and wherein the media playback system comprises thefirst playback device and a second playback device; determine that thefirst playback device is not configured to provide feedback in responseto voice commands received via the at least one microphone of the firstplayback device and that the second playback device is available toprovide feedback in response to voice commands received via the at leastone microphone of the first playback device; cause the second playbackdevice to provide a first feedback in response to the first voicecommand; determine that the first playback device has received a secondvoice command via the at least one microphone of the first playbackdevice; determine that the second playback device is no longer availableto provide feedback in response to voice commands received via the atleast one microphone of the first playback device; and in response todetermining that the second playback device is no longer available toprovide feedback in response to voice commands received via the at leastone microphone of the first playback device, select a fallback devicefrom one or more media playback devices currently or previouslyconfigured to play back media content in synchrony with the secondplayback device; and cause the fallback device to provide a secondfeedback in response to the second voice command.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the first playback device is currently or was previouslyconfigured to play back media content in synchrony with the secondplayback device, and wherein the program instructions that areexecutable by the at least one processor such that the system isconfigured to select the fallback device from one or more media playbackdevices currently or previously configured to play back media content insynchrony with the second playback device comprise program instructionsthat are executable by the at least one processor such that the systemis configured to select the first playback device as the fallbackdevice.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the program instructions thatare executable by the at least one processor such that the system isconfigured to cause the fallback device to provide the second feedbackin response to the second voice command comprise program instructionsthat are executable by the at least one processor such that the systemis configured to reconfigure the first playback device to providefeedback in response to voice commands received via the at least onemicrophone of the first playback device.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the media playback system further comprises a third playbackdevice that is currently or was previously configured to play back mediacontent in synchrony with the second playback device, and wherein theprogram instructions that are executable by the at least one processorsuch that the system is configured to select the fallback device fromone or more media playback devices currently or previously configured toplay back media content in synchrony with the second playback devicecomprise program instructions that are executable by the at least oneprocessor such that the system is configured to select the thirdplayback device as the fallback device.
 5. The system of claim 1,wherein the media content comprises multi-channel audio content, whereinthe second playback device is currently or was previously configured toplay back a first channel of the multi-channel audio content, andwherein the fallback device is currently or was previously configured toplay back a second channel of the multi-channel audio content.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the first playback device, the secondplayback device, and the fallback device are grouped for playing backthe media content in synchrony.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein theprogram instructions that are executable by the at least one processorsuch that the system is configured to determine that the second playbackdevice is no longer available to provide feedback in response to voicecommands received via the at least one microphone of the first playbackdevice comprise program instructions that are executable by the at leastone processor such that the system is configured to determine that thesecond playback device is one of (i) muted, (ii) in a do not interruptstate, (iii) in a power save mode, or (iv) unreachable via a networkconfigured to support communications between the media playback systemand the second playback device.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein theprogram instructions that are executable by the at least one processorsuch that the system is configured to select the fallback device fromthe one or more media playback devices currently or previouslyconfigured to play back media content in synchrony with the secondplayback device comprise program instructions that are executable by theat least one processor such that a remote computing device is configuredto select the fallback device from the one or more media playbackdevices currently or previously configured to play back media content insynchrony with the second playback device.
 9. A method comprising:determining that a first playback device has received a first voicecommand via at least one microphone of the first playback device,wherein the first playback device is configured to receive voicecommands for a media playback system, and wherein the media playbacksystem comprises the first playback device and a second playback device;determining that the first playback device is not configured to providefeedback in response to voice commands received via the at least onemicrophone of the first playback device and that the second playbackdevice is available to provide feedback in response to voice commandsreceived via the at least one microphone of the first playback device;causing the second playback device to provide a first feedback inresponse to the first voice command; determining that the first playbackdevice has received a second voice command via the at least onemicrophone of the first playback device; determining that the secondplayback device is no longer available to provide feedback in responseto voice commands received via the at least one microphone of the firstplayback device; and in response to determining that the second playbackdevice is no longer available to provide feedback in response to voicecommands received via the at least one microphone of the first playbackdevice, selecting a fallback device from one or more media playbackdevices currently or previously configured to play back media content insynchrony with the second playback device; and causing the fallbackdevice to provide a second feedback in response to the second voicecommand.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first playback device iscurrently or was previously configured to play back media content insynchrony with the second playback device, and wherein selecting thefallback device from one or more media playback devices currently orpreviously configured to play back media content in synchrony with thesecond playback device comprises selecting the first playback device asthe fallback device.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein causing thefallback device to provide the second feedback in response to the secondvoice command comprises reconfiguring the first playback device toprovide feedback in response to voice commands received via the at leastone microphone of the first playback device.
 12. The method of claim 9,wherein the media playback system further comprises a third playbackdevice that is currently or was previously configured to play back mediacontent in synchrony with the second playback device, and whereinselecting the fallback device from one or more media playback devicescurrently or previously configured to play back media content insynchrony with the second playback device comprises selecting the thirdplayback device as the fallback device.
 13. The method of claim 9,wherein the media content comprises multi-channel audio content, whereinthe second playback device is currently or was previously configured toplay back a first channel of the multi-channel audio content, andwherein the fallback device is currently or was previously configured toplay back a second channel of the multi-channel audio content.
 14. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the first playback device, the secondplayback device, and the fallback device are grouped for playing backthe media content in synchrony.
 15. The method of claim 9, whereindetermining that the second playback device is no longer available toprovide feedback in response to voice commands received via the at leastone microphone of the first playback device comprises determining thatthe second playback device is one of (i) muted, (ii) in a do notinterrupt state, (iii) in a power save mode, or (iv) unreachable via anetwork configured to support communications between the media playbacksystem and the second playback device.
 16. The method of claim 9,wherein selecting the fallback device from the one or more mediaplayback devices currently or previously configured to play back mediacontent in synchrony with the second playback device comprisesselecting, via a remote computing device over a data network, thefallback device from the one or more media playback devices currently orpreviously configured to play back media content in synchrony with thesecond playback device.
 17. A system comprising: a first playback deviceconfigured to communicate over at least one data network, wherein thefirst playback device comprises: at least one microphone; at least onefirst processor; at least one first non-transitory computer-readablemedium; and first program instructions stored on the at least one firstnon-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the atleast one first processor such that the first playback device isconfigured to: play back media content in synchrony with a secondplayback device and a third playback device; receive a first voicecommand via the at least one microphone, wherein the first playbackdevice is not configured to provide feedback in response to the firstvoice command; determine that the second playback device is available toprovide feedback in response to voice commands received via the at leastone microphone; send a first instruction to the second playback devicefor causing the second playback device to provide a first feedback inresponse to the first voice command; receive a second voice command viathe at least one microphone; determine that the second playback deviceis no longer available to provide feedback in response to voice commandsreceived via the at least one microphone; in response to determiningthat the second playback device is no longer available to providefeedback in response to voice commands received via the at least onemicrophone, select the third playback device as a fallback device forproviding feedback in response to voice commands received via the atleast one microphone; and send a second instruction to the thirdplayback device for causing the third playback device to provide asecond feedback in response to the second voice command; the secondplayback device, wherein the second playback device is configured tocommunicate over the at least one data network, and wherein the secondplayback device comprises: at least one second processor; at least onesecond non-transitory computer-readable medium; and second programinstructions stored on the at least one second non-transitorycomputer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one secondprocessor such that the second playback device is configured to: receivethe first instruction via the at least one data network; and provide thefirst feedback in response to the first voice command; and the thirdplayback device, wherein the third playback device is configured tocommunicate over the at least one data network, and wherein the thirdplayback device comprises: at least one third processor; at least onethird non-transitory computer-readable medium; and third programinstructions stored on the at least one third non-transitorycomputer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one thirdprocessor such that the third playback device is configured to: receivethe second instruction via the at least one data network; and providethe second feedback in response to the second voice command.
 18. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein the media content comprises multi-channelaudio content, wherein the second program instructions stored on the atleast one second non-transitory computer-readable medium are furtherexecutable by the at least one second processor such that the secondplayback device is further configured to play back a first channel ofthe multi-channel audio content, and wherein the third programinstructions stored on the at least one third non-transitorycomputer-readable medium are further executable by the at least onethird processor such that the third playback device is furtherconfigured to play back a second channel of the multi-channel audiocontent.
 19. The system of claim 17, wherein the first programinstructions that are executable by the at least one first processorsuch that the first playback device is configured to determine that thesecond playback device is no longer available to provide feedback inresponse to voice commands received via the at least one microphonecomprise program instructions that are executable by the at least onefirst processor such that the first playback device is configured todetermine that the second playback device is one of (i) muted, (ii) in ado not interrupt state, (iii) in a power save mode, or (iv) unreachablevia the at least one data network.
 20. The system of claim 17, whereinthe first program instructions that are executable by the at least onefirst processor such that the first playback device is configured todetermine that the second playback device is no longer available toprovide feedback in response to voice commands received via the at leastone microphone comprise program instructions that are executable by theat least one first processor such that the first playback device isconfigured to receive a message via the at least one data networkindicating that the second playback device is not available to providefeedback in response to voice commands received via the at least onemicrophone.